MINSK, 12 June (BelTA) – As he met with top officials of the Belarus President Administration on 12 June, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko referred to the recent situation with artificial potato shortages to explain what and how government officials should keep an eye on and why they should promptly respond to various trends, BelTA has learned.
The head of state wants government officials and particularly the Belarus President Administration to take prompt actions and most importantly independent ones. “You keep bringing problems to the president. Why do you keep running to me? You know my stance. Don’t offend people whoever they may be if they work in compliance with the law,” he said. “If we see that something is wrong, then the law should be amended. If people violate legislation, they should be held responsible. This is why everything should be controllable.”
The alleged shortage of potatoes in Belarusian shops is a recent situation that has caused public uproar. It happened due to objective factors in some places. In other places market players tried to create artificial shortages. Aleksandr Lukashenko had spoken about it earlier and revisited the matter during the conference on 12 June. He used this example to indicate what things government officials should keep an eye on. They should also focus on counterpropaganda because the opposition often hypes up various topics. “You have to know how to handle it. It is the counterpropaganda we had in the past. And it is extremely beneficial for us. I talked about retailers the other day,” the head of state said. “They started toying with potatoes. I called [Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily] Gerasimov and told him to look into it and report back! Together with the former prime minister. You will answer for it with your heads. They started looking into major retail chains. It turned out those had plenty of potatoes in storage. Why not on shop shelves? Due to politics. They wanted to prove that the authorities control prices so much that it is impossible to live anymore. In other words, it was a sore spot for these money-grubbers.”
“Once it was sorted out, potatoes became available. We have already restored potato supply across the country. Including with imports. Certainly, it is a total disgrace. But I will straighten out the oblast governors and you, too. Potatoes are not the only problem,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
The president pointed out that prices on shop shelves can be 2-3 times as high as the manufacturer’s prices. While all kinds of intermediaries and retailers benefit from the difference. “As a genuine economist I can imagine how it all works. And everyone rushed into retail because it offers moneymaking opportunities. How? Get a loan. Money in the bank is not his money. It is people’s money, our money. He gets a loan. He repays the loan within 3-4 years by raising prices out of control. That’s it. Now the founder can get net profit and rest. What does he live off? Off the uncontrolled price hikes. Is it normal? It is not. It is an American scheme that has been foisted upon us. But it is normal for them. Besides, the USA can print dollars. They can handle it. It is unacceptable for us.”
“But the most important thing is that people don’t accept it. And with good reason,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the fact that at the same time employees of retail chains such as checkout cashiers, freight movers, and the rest are paid fairly small wages while the bulk of the money is spent on “wages” of the founders. “Br78,000 per month! Per month! Listen, as a president I can only dream of such wages. I will never have such wages.”
The head of state also shared some other details concerning bank accounts: “Can’t you see it? He opens accounts in five banks and receives financial aid to the tune of Br56,000 to each account.”
“How should I respond to it? I publicly said that it is unfair and unacceptable! And people surely understand it and support it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “At the same time [retailers] decided to exploit it. Fine. Handcuffs were placed on the table before some people. Things will be rough for them. But you should take care of it. Not me.”
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